Glad to be back home in Quebec

 

We left early this year, taking a window of clear weather that fell over Jan 1-3.  We weren't sure what that would mean, hopefully less trucks, but maybe a lot more returning holiday travelers. That turned out to be pretty on-target, although I'd have been happier with fewer holiday travelers in a rush to get back home.

The weather cooperated, with a bit of fog early on, then a few flurries, but nothing substantial.  Perfect.

My venerable Volvo XC wagon was making its last trip, complete with snow tires and a few niggling issues.  It's been a really good car and hopefully will be fine this winter and complete the journey back home to Asheville in March.

It was so nice to arrive to our historic cottage, surrounded by snow, but not that much. Temperatures were mild (~35° F), so it was easy to bring the house up to a nice temperature (starting from 55 °F).

We dealt with mice incursions and other minor cleanups, a power mistake in the basement found me cleaning up moldy fruit again.  Oh, well.  At least I don't have to make all of it into something!  I harvested it, after all, and it would have been ready to use. We put the remains over the fence to compost or perhaps be eaten. Happy not to throw it out.

And the upstairs freezer still has a nice array of home-harvested fruit, too. More than enough, I encourage myself, as I was sad about the loss, and was glad that my gardening companion was willing to do the "compost over the fence" chore.

The light was beautiful this afternoon, driving back from the village market.   I didn't stop to take a photo, but this image is similar, from a walk a couple of years back. It is a wonderful place to be.